73 2002 Malaga - Cyril

[jjbunn]

you found the best....in my opinion......year the 2002 was made! you will never forget this journey! looks great! consider yourself lucky! but....most of all.....have fun!

hendi

Thanks, Hendi. Yes - fun is the name of the game :-)

[jjbunn]

My goal is to make the car more presentable than it was when I got it, which shouldn't be hard :-)

But it takes a long time prepping and spraying, and the end result is only good from at least 10ft away. I can always have it painted professionally later if I like the car enough to keep it long term anyway.

Here's a shot of the current status. I will retain Malaga on the bonnet and boot, and around the car under the windows. Below the upper belt line will be black as well as the roof and pillars.

The process I'm using is the same as I used on my TR6:

• 
  sand the existing paint with 120 grit,
  fill small nicks and scratches with body putty,
  spray with sandable primer,
  sand with 220 grit, running hands over all the surface to feel imperfections (somehow it's easier to feel these than it is to see them)
  tape and mask,
  wipe over with rubbing alcohol (somehow the paint seems to cover better after alcohol than if I use Mineral Spirits),
  spray at least one coat of Rustoleum gloss enamel - I'm using Gloss Black.
  

The Gloss Black is very unforgiving of any surface imperfections. I did try flat and satin black, but then the surface just looked unfinished. I also tried Gloss Dark Grey, but it just looked like primer!

The best part of this job is putting the chrome trim pieces, badges, etc. back on :-)

[jjbunn]

Now both seats are fitted in position:

Since I had finished repainting one side of the car, I needed to turn it around to paint the other side (the light is better in that direction). So, on went the wheels, down it came off the jackstands, in went the battery, and I fired up the engine. After a few pulls it started, so I turned the car around and let it idle for a while. There was quite some smoke from the engine compartment, which appeared to be coming from the rear of the engine, over the exhaust manifold.

I suspected the valve cover gasket, as I could see it hanging out at places around the cover. I removed the cover:

Sure enough, the gasket is shot, so I have another on order, together with an oil filter - I'll change the oil when they arrive.

While I was poking around in the engine compartment, I found that the oil temperature sensor lead had become detached, so I crimped on a new end and reattached it. There are some unattached wires hanging around which I wonder about, as I can't find them on any of the (many) circuit diagrams I've looked at. For example:

the sheath zip-tied to the brake booster vacuum hose (right hand side of the photo) contains a couple of wires with unattached spade ends. One is a green/yellow wire. My suspicion is that these are related to smog equipment, long removed, but I don't know.

Another discovery was the Pertronix ignition:

which has been rather inexpertly installed.

On the carburetor, I found a vacuum port with a perished rubber tube terminated with a loose bolt in the end which was certainly causing a vacuum leak - so I replaced it. I will fit a vacuum gauge in the console at some point, and will use that port for it then.

Some parts came in from Blunt today - a battery hold-down, a new acorn nut for the valve cover (to replace an odd-man-out regular nut) - but which turns out to be bigger than the others, a rectangular gear stick boot, a pedal box pad, and a horn carbon brush (I'm not sure if it's the right one for my wheel, so am in touch with Blunt about that).

I was getting a little sick of looking at the denuded transmission tunnel, so used the old carpet as a template for cutting a piece of new, cheap black carpet:

The installed piece looks fine, and I can now fit the console and all the under dash panels. I just wish I knew what this Hella relay marked "Summer" was for:

No, it's not the horn relay ...!

[hendi72]

HELLO, PASEDENA! I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING YOUR WORK FROM TIME TO TIME WHEN I JUMP ON THE FAQ SITE. I HAVE TO SAY.....NICE WORK! YOU ARE DOING WELL!! ESPECIALLY IMPRESSED WITH THE DASH! AND.....THE SEATS....VERY NICE FOR THE PRICE! WELL.....KEEP IT FUN....THAT....FOR ME....IS THE NAME OF THE GAME. OH YEAH.....THAT CURIOUS RELAY THAT SAID "SUMMER".......I DONT KNOW WHY IT SAID SUMMER......BUT I THINK THAT MAY BE YOUR BUZZER RELAY FOR THE KEY. IT'S THAT ANNOYING SOUND THAT MANY REMOVE WHEN YOUR KEY IS IN AND THE DOORS ARE LEFT OPEN TO WARN DRIVER. LATER MODELS I THINK HAD IT TIED INTO THE SEATBELTS.

WELL...CHEERS FROM SUNNY SOUTH FLA.

HENDI

[jjbunn]

This blog will now continue at http://bmw2002driver.wordpress.com.